4* Petrol Malarkey

[boobydoo]

Does anyone on here still use 4* petrol?

 

There used to be a garage at the end of my road that sold it until about three years ago when it closed its forecourt completely due to being unable to compete with the big 24hr Tesco half a mile away. Now the nearest is Knebworth which is about a 20 mile round trip, but today I decided to give the Chrysler a little spin and fill her up as I think she will run better with a bit of leaded.

 

It's actually a Vauxhall dealer half way between Knebworth and Welwyn Garden City and 4 out of 24 pumps dispense 4*.

 

 

However it is a bit pricey at £2.04 a litre. It cost me £90 to fill the tank, but that will last me quite a while so I don't mind. I certainly couldn't afford to put it into a daily runner.

 

 

I'd be interested to know if anyone has a 4* garage near them and what price they charge. It might be a useful source for other shiters.

 

Speaking to the woman behind the till, it seems they do a roaring trade in the Spring and Summer and get quite a few classic car owners from North London coming out to fill up.( I was also regaled with some story about her friends ulcer that burst and how she wasn't able to take any time off work. )

[eddyramrod]

Surely, to put that petrol in that car, somebody should have come out and done it for you? Most petrol stations over here still have attended service, which feels absolutely right when I'm in the Granada. Just a thought...

[Mr_Bo11ox]

I’m amazed to see you can still buy it at all!

 

I guess for the mileage your 2-litre does its not such a big deal but I would really question whether it’s necessary to use 4-star. They have an ally head I think, so will have seat inserts fitted already, and an oldskool distributor ignition will not be able to take advantage of the higher octane number anyway.

[barefoot]

There's a place called The Cottage Garage just off the A50 on the A514 towards Melbourne at Swarkstone Bridge, I use it from time for my Beetle, I'll nip over in the next few days for a price check & a couple of pictures.

[254575]

http://www.parkendgarage.co.uk/

 

fill car up for you.

4 star.

 

DON’T D I Y

 

 

Our attendant serves you.

So you DON’T handle messy pumps.

 

Our attendant comes to you.

So you DON’T get out in the rain.

 

Give our attendant cash or Go direct to our EPOS.

So you DON’T wait behind a ‘basket of groceries’ to pay.

 

Children? An attendant will oversee them.

So you DON’T leave them in the car unattended!

 

We give speedy service.

So you DON’T waste time waiting elsewhere.

 

There is easy clear access to our forecourt.

So you DON’T manoeuvre past parked vehicles to the pumps.

 

We have time for our clients.

So you DON’T feel hassled.

[Spiny Norman]

 

That's one scary fecking picture!

How long do you reckon before that's what we're paying for regular unleaded?

Love the Chrysler btw, very cool.

[oman5]

I ran a Morris minor about 4 years back, I used to fill it with 4 star every 3rd tank or so for the lead memory. A company called Bayford thrust used to deal with 4* sales in the uk, still legal apparently so long as it only accounts for a microscopic percentage of total fuel sales (which it obviously does)

Anyway, the garage was in Portskewett village, near caldicot, s.wales. the only one in the village and was still attendant service with what looked like a '60s vintage analogue circular dial fuel pump. Far as I know they are still there. and yes, it was about 30p a litre dearer than unleaded.

You can actually still buy crates of neat tetra ethyl lead to make your own 4*. only thing is you HAVE to buy in boxes of 12 bottles, quite pricey but still the same as a lead replacement additive. its what my mate uses in his '64 fleetwood.

 

Bit of useless trivia- American Thomas midgely was the inventor of leaded petrol, adding TE lead for its anti knock properties in an era of low quality petrol pre-dating modern octane ratings. also the inventor of synthesised flourocarbons for use in aerosol cans; both products now banned for being outrageously detrimantal to the environment. although to be fair it was big business who kept them in use despite evidence of the harmful effects.

[DSdriver]

There is a garage somewhere between Tunbridge Wells and Dungeness that was selling four star at £1.96 per litre when I drove that way about a month ago. If anyone is interested I will pay more attention as to the location should I go back that way.

[AnthonyG]

I had actually forgotten you could still buy it, I thought you were referring to LRP... .

 

Like MrB says I wouldn't worry about it unless you're doing lots of miles at high speeds, but I can see why you want to treat the car, having just got her back on the road .

[Andrew353w]

I'm amazed that one can still buy 4 star! Are the pumps specially marked, to prevent a dopey driver putting 4 star into a car that CANNOT use it? Fortunately all my Autoshite fleet can drink unleaded without any adjustment or addition of additives to the tank, so I would not need it. That said, I started out in the motor trade by flogging Jet fuels in the 1970's and I'd love to smell some real 4 star; I bet my memories will come flooding back......

 

Is there a web site showing the forecourts selling 4 star? I had a look on t'internet (which is, incidentally, what a Yorkshire footballer says when he scores a goal....) but couldn't find anything like it. I suppose the price reflects the lack of demand, so there's no economies of scale. Slightly off topic, there's a petrol refinery up for sale in Essex; how about an Autoshite co-operative re-opening it & running it for the benefit of fellow Autoshiters?

 

(Note to self: don't open Autoshite page after consuming 4 bottles of Thatchers Vintage Cider, 'coz you talk total b*****cks!)

[trigger]

Your Chrysler looks stunning Booby, I didn't even know 4* was still available, I'll have to keep a eye open for it now.

[boobydoo]

A Lynn Faulds-Wood style investigation reveals that a garage makes an average of 6p profit per litre of unleaded it sells.

 

On the 4* it's 34p per litre. Understandable I guess due to the small amount sold.

 

The single 4* tank at the garage I used, holds 1500 litres compared to three tanks of 18,000 litres each of unleaded.

[meggersdog]

Are the pumps specially marked, to prevent a dopey driver putting 4 star into a car that CANNOT use it?

 

I would think the fuel nozzle will be like the diesel one so you won't be able to get the nozzle past the restrictor in the fuel filler.

[DSdriver]

I would think the fuel nozzle will be like the diesel one so you won't be able to get the nozzle past the restrictor in the fuel filler.

The diesel nozzle does fit into the filler pipe on a Citroen DS. More information can be obtained from MrsDSDriver.

[carlo]

I would think the fuel nozzle will be like the diesel one so you won't be able to get the nozzle past the restrictor in the fuel filler.

The diesel nozzle does fit into the filler pipe on a Citroen DS. More information can be obtained from MrsDSDriver.

 

It is quite easy though to put unleaded into your diesel motor, as I discovered when I managed to put £20 worth of super-unleaded into Mrs Carlo's Fiat Panda Multijet. And quite easy for the garage to make £157 off me to sort it all out. Stupid thing was as I drove up I thought "Must remember it's a diesel", then saw the blue filler nozzle next to the green petrol one and presumed that was diesel ...

[Negative Creep]

I hope the Yugo uses unleaded, as I don't think there's any 4 star around here......

[Ian Mac]

The Yugo will be fine on unleaded although I tend to use a lead additive in mine every now and then. I've also retarded the ignition very slightly as it does have a slight tendency to 'pink' sometimes.

 

Ian

[Albert Ross]

In 1989/90, all Yugos and Zastavas officially imported into the UK, were recalled to have fuel hoses fitted that were safe for unleaded. Bet you didn't know that! I know because I did quite a few. Yeah, working for a Yugo and Dacia dealer was ace. They were REALLY crap. That's why I love 'em.

[Ian Mac]

Hi Albert. Perhaps I can impose on you to put some thoughts together about your time in a Yugo dealership which I can use as an article in our Club magazine? Cheers...

 

Ian

[e287yba]

Firstly, I'm surprised that 4* is still readiily available; secondly I'm surprised that it's only just over £2 a litre. The last I read in a classic car mag, some years ago, it cost significantly more and was getting very hard to find !

 

I use Sainsburys' Super (BP Ultimate 98RON, it is rumoured, and 133.9 pence per litre the last time I filled up) in both the 309 and MG1600 - the 309 seems to like Tesco Momentum99 (with extra Ethanol - fuel for the future *ahem*) as well, whereas the MG1600 utterly detests it .

 

Mind you, the 309 will also run quite happily on Morrisons bog standard stuff, just pinking a little more and you can actually hear the engine inside the car for once. The MG1600 hates the cheap stuff as well - fussy bugger!

 

I also use Morris SuperBlend (Unleaded Additive) in the MG1600 - it works out about £6.50 a bottle,or about £1.50 to treat a tankfull as I got it in bulk. The 309 is fine on Unleaded with no sans plomb aditif .

[Spiny Norman]

Firstly, I'm surprised that 4* is still readiily available.....

 

Me too. I know it used to be available a few years back but I'd assumed the powers that be had quietly added it to the 'forbidden' list while no-one was looking. I wish I'd been able to find some when I had my old Amazon. It ran well enough on Sainsbury's super 97 octane stuff but 4-star smelled so much nicer when it burned/pissed out the knackered float chambers in old SUs.

[scooters]

I thought that the Eurocrats had banned it?

 

haven't used it for years and tended to just use a half decent additive and rely on memory for the older cars...more serious is going to be the next round of buggering about with petrol to the ethanol content which will melt wur valves!

[Pete-M]

I don't think I've put 4* in a car since about 1995. Very rarely used LRP either. Never had a problem.

[dollywobbler]

I don't think I've put 4* in a car since about 1995. Very rarely used LRP either. Never had a problem.

 

Same here. Mini's done over 40,000 miles on neat unleaded (well, perhaps the odd splash of additive, but we generally don't bother) and should in theory be ruined by now. 2CVs are happy on unleaded. I did use LRP during the Fuel Protests. IN UR FACE CATALYSTS! Was great when all the unleaded had run out. Nae bother! It didn't seem to run very happily on it mind.

[danthecapriman]

Theres no where near me that sells 4 star or LRP anymore, not that I know of anyway.

The last place in the area was a small garage near emsworth that did LRP, even then I think I was the only person buying it and once it was all gone they didnt get anymore. That must have been about 7 years ago!

 

I converted my capri to use unleaded so thats no longer a problem, and the volvo will only use unleaded anyway. But my granada and transit both need an additive.

I try to use super unleaded in them or the shell v power, its more expensive but they seem to run better on it. I would convert them both for normal unleaded but they dont get that much use at the moment so its probably not worth bothering.